Our view on the 1963 vintage
The 1963 vintage has a quite bad reputation and it must be recognized that the climatic conditions did not help the winegrowers to produce great wines. In Bordeaux, 1963 was cold and humid all summer (from July to September) , the wines are therefore far from a 1961 vintage in both colour. In Burgundy, the very late harvest spread out until the beginning of November, thanks to an Indian summer which saved the harvest, but the red wines of 1963 are not mythical. The 1963 white Burgundy from Meursault and Puligny Montrachet are better and can sometimes be very surprising. No 1963 vintage in Champagne, the wines were placed in reserve to supply the blends of brut Non Vintage Champagne wines. It must be said that the wines were of a formidable acidity, and it would probably have taken time to incorporate these reserve wines in brut champagne without adjustments (in order not to distort the taste). In the Rhone Valley, the 1963 vintage is also not particularly notable, as in Loire and Alsace where the productions were very affected by the poor weather conditions. If the year 1963 is not a great year from an oenological point of view, a bottle of this vintage can however be an original gift on the occasion of a vintage anniversary. Offering a bottle of wine for a symbolic year is always a welcome gesture.